KUSA's Live OTA Coverage Of The Theater Shooting Trial

[JeeperOne]

I think I'll start the discussion here with my observations of the OTA coverage of the Theater Shooting currently airing on KUSA 9.3 (Justice Network) whenever court is in session

Overall the coverage is great HOWEVER am I the only one who thinks KUSA ought to be airing SOMETHING besides DEAD AIR when court is in morning/afternoon recess or on lunch break ??. Surely there's SOMETHING they can put on (Like analysis of the events, special newscasts or even a simulcast of the 12:00 Noon newscast on 9.1 ??)

How about running COPS Reloaded episodes (Last I checked, they DO own the syndie rights to the show) ?? I can understand why they wouldn't wanna go back to JN during the lunch break but COPS Reloaded would fit quite nicely (And they could run it in segments as opposed to an entire episode if needed to ensure they fill the time but are still able to return to trial coverage without having to cut into the middle of something on JN yet again)

Also, whatever happened to the discussion show they starting airing at 5:30 PM each night ?? That went POOF !!

Finally, who else in the state is carrying the trial on a sub ?? I'm curious about this.....

Cheers & 73 ....

 

[TheBigA]

It sounds like a digital network, right? Available only to people using an OTA network? Or is it also on cable?

 

[JeeperOne]

It sounds like a digital network, right? Available only to people using an OTA network? Or is it also on cable?

Justice Netwqrk is a diginet which (In Denver) is on KUSA 9.3 OTA & Comcast Cabel 254

HERE is the official network website

NOTE - Justice Network IS NOT carrying the trial nationwide. The Theater Shooting trial is only a local (Perhaps regional ??) thing that's aired on the same sub channel as JN here in Denver when court is in session

Cheers & 73

 

[TheBigA]

NOTE - Justice Network IS NOT carrying the trial nationwide.

That explains a lot. Probably a very small audience, and therefore not a lot of money. Programming is a direct reflection of the money it attracts.

 

[JeeperOne]

That explains a lot. Probably a very small audience, and therefore not a lot of money. Programming is a direct reflection of the money it attracts.

No no you misunderstand. The trial coverage is only a LOCAL thing. Justice Network airs stuff that primarily used to air on TruTV, Discovery, etc.

I don't think they have any plans to air any trial coverage like Court TV (And later TruTV) did

Cheers & 73

 

[TheBigA]

No no you misunderstand. The trial coverage is only a LOCAL thing.

But I think that's why KUSA isn't devoting much time or energy to it, and just airing a pool feed or something basic without the kind of anchored coverage you'd expect on the main broadcast channel.

 

[JeeperOne]

But I think that's why KUSA isn't devoting much time or energy to it, and just airing a pool feed or something basic without the kind of anchored coverage you'd expect on the main broadcast channel.

They can do anchor covered with a pool feed if they just APPLIED themselves to the effort. The cable news channels do it all the time when covering a big trial (ALA People v. Zimmermann)

BTW - The other stations only have it on their websites & mobile apps while KUSA has it online AND OTA

Cheers & 73

 

[TheBigA]

They can do anchor covered with a pool feed if they just APPLIED themselves to the effort.

TV is not a hobby. It's a business. They don't get gold stars or A for effort.

Cable news budgets for it. A local station doesn't. And cable news is national. How much would you personally contribute to their coverage fund?

 

[JeeperOne]

TV is not a hobby. It's a business. They don't get gold stars or A for effort.

I know that. That's not what I was driving at though

Cable news budgets for it. A local station doesn't. And cable news is national. How much would you personally contribute to their coverage fund?

Well EVEN IIF they don't offer anchored coverage, they should still DO SOMETHING besides airing dead air during yjr long lunch breaks (Which can in upwards of 90 minutes (Even if all they do is stick on back-to-back reruns of COPS Reloaded to fill the time since they have the syndie rights to those)

either way, it beats putting on 90 minutes of dead air

Cheers & 73

 

[TheBigA]

either way, it beats putting on 90 minutes of dead air

For the three people watching...it's simply not worth it.

Syndication rights are usually pretty specific on how and when a show can air.

 

[JeeperOne]

For the three people watching...it's simply not worth it.

Well if we follow THIS logic, then KUSA must be wasting bandwidth on Justice Network itself then (They carry the trial on the same sub as Justice Network, only they drop the network when court is in session)

Syndication rights are usually pretty specific on how and when a show can air.

Maybe so, but if so, I'd rather watch what's on JTN (Justice Network) than be subjected toi dead air anyday

Of course, I could always turn off the TV or change the channel but why should I have to do that when they can simply go back to JTN during the long lunch breaks instead & return to trial coverage for the afternoon session after lunch instead ??

That would make better sense IMO.....

Cheers & 73

 

[TheBigA]

Well if we follow THIS logic, then KUSA must be wasting bandwidth on Justice Network itself then

That's OK...they pay the same price for the bandwidth regardless, and all they do a route a pool feed on to this channel. No muss, no fuss. They can claim it as "community service." But the minute you start getting anchors involved, you have to pay them, and that gets expensive. Plus it diverts them from their main job.

Of course, I could always turn off the TV or change the channel but why should I have to do that when they can simply go back to JTN during the long lunch breaks instead & return to trial coverage for the afternoon session after lunch instead ??

This is in the category of "If a tree falls in a forest, and no-one's around, does it make a sound?" It doesn't matter. You want to drive over there and make the switch for them? Go ahead. Many times I see similar problems at my local cable system. Nobody's watching the line, so they don't know the picture's locked up. I call them, and it wakes them up.